Keene Fitzpatrick

Dennis "Keene" Fitzpatrick was born on December 24, 1864 in Ireland. Later he will claim to have been born in Massachusetts but records show that his family immigrated from Ireland to Keene, New Hampshire, when he was young. This may have been the origin of his nickname. His family moved to Natick, Massachusetts, after his father's death to be closer to his mother's family. He was a cousin of another early atheltic trainer, "Pooch" Donovan. Fitzpatrick became a boyhood friend of Mike Murphy. Fitzpatrick competed with Murphy, Donovan and many other early athletic trainers on the Natick (MA) Hook and Ladder teams in the late 1880's. Famed sportswriter Grantland Rice will term the group the "Natick Immortals."

Fitzpatrick will switch between Yale and Michigan several times. On his first three jobs he replaced Murphy when Murphy had moved elsewhere. Fitzpatrick, Murphy and some of the other athletic trainers they grew up with would get together in Massachusetts during the summers for the rest of their lives. Fitzpatrick will earn a reputation as one of the best and most honest of athletic trainers in his era.